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Home owner and bird watcher Sheila Salo watches from her deck as a female cardinal is held by a researcher and removed gently from a mist net, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. Cornell University's records show a boom in amateur bird-watching. The number of people submitting eBird checklists - recording their bird sightings - was up 37% in 2020 compared with the previous year. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Georgetown University ecologist Emily Williams first became fascinated with birds not because of their beauty, or their sweet songs. She was riveted by their extraordinary travels.
"Realizing that this tiny animal that can fit in the palm of your hand can travel thousands and thousands of miles one way in spring, and then does it again later in the year, was just amazing to me," she said. "I have always been dazzled by migration."
This spring and summer, her research project tracking the annual migration of American robins has gotten a boost from the enthusiasm of homeowners in the greater Washington area, who've let her and a research assistant set up makeshift research stations in their backyards before dawn - and sometimes contributed their own notes and observations.
Several homeowners have eagerly shown her where they've discovered robins' nests in their azalea bushes, or shared diaries they've made on the movements of birds passing through their yards - not only robins, but also cardinals, blue jays, house wrens, tufted titmice, white-throated sparrows, even red-shouldered hawks.
A female cardinal bites the finger of Princeton University grad student Trey Hendrix as he holds her moments before release Saturday, April 24, 2021, in Silver Spring, Md. Hendrix had gently removed the cardinal from a mist net used to capture birds for banding or other research projects. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Four blue robin eggs are seen in the morning light, Thursday, May 6, 2021, in Silver Springs, Md. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Williams often begins her fieldwork at 4:30 a.m., but she can only be in one backyard at a time. And so her research, like that of many biologists, benefits from the cooperation and excitement of a growing number of citizen scientists - some of whom record their daily observations on Cornell University's popular bird-watching smartphone app, eBird.
"People who love birds and report their sightings - that's really helping scientists learn in much greater detail about birds' behavior and distribution," said Adriaan Dokter, an ecologist at Cornell.
Arjun Amar, a conservation biologist at the University of Cape Town, has even used photos uploaded by citizen scientists on Cornell's platform as the foundation of new research projects - such as examining global variations in the stripes on peregrine falcons' faces, which reduce solar glare and allow them to dive at breakneck speeds. "This wouldn't have been so possible before," he said.
Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams releases an American robin after gathering data, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. "Realizing that this tiny animal that can fit in the palm of your hand can travel thousands and thousands of miles one way in spring, and then does it again later in the year, was just amazing to me," she said. "I have always been dazzled by migration." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The pandemic that put much of normal life on pause - stopping travel and shutting people in their homes - also afforded more time for many families to study the wildlife in their own backyards.
Cornell's records show a boom in amateur bird-watching. The number of people submitting eBird checklists - recording their bird sightings - was up 37% in 2020 compared with the previous year. The annual "big day" event, when people are encouraged to submit sightings during spring migration (this year, on May 8), also set participation records.
Those numbers don't surprise Williams, who says many of her non-scientist friends have taken up bird-watching during the past year.
"Maybe you'd have to travel to Alaska or Canada to see a grizzly bear, or go to Africa to see a zebra - but birds are literally right outside your door, anywhere you are in the world," she said. "People have really started to pay more attention to their backyards because they had to stay home so much. I think it's a huge boon for us as scientists, that more people appreciate birds."
Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams holds a robin to examine its wings, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. "Realizing that this tiny animal that can fit in the palm of your hand can travel thousands and thousands of miles one way in spring, and then does it again later in the year, was just amazing to me," she said. "I have always been dazzled by migration." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Princeton University graduate student Severine Hex holds a female blue jay in her open hand to release it Saturday, April 24, 2021, in Silver Spring, Md. Hex gently removed the blue jay from a mist net used to capture birds for banding or other research projects. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A wren rests on a hand as it is held by the feet, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. Cornell University records show a boom in amateur bird-watching. The number of people submitting eBird checklists - recording their bird sightings - was up 37% in 2020 compared with the previous year. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams examines a robin's feet and claws, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. This spring and summer, her research project tracking the annual migration of American robins has gotten a boost from the enthusiasm of homeowners in the greater Washington area, who've let her and a research assistant set up makeshift research stations in their backyards before dawn - and sometimes contributed their own notes and observations. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A catbird flies form the open hands of avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams, Thursday, May 6, 2021, in Silver Springs, Md. "Maybe you'd have to travel to Alaska or Canada to see a grizzly bear, or go to Africa to see a zebra - but birds are literally right outside your door, anywhere you are in the world," she says. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams holds a robin, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. Williams often begins her fieldwork at 4:30 a.m., but she can only be in one backyard at a time. And so her research, like that of many biologists, benefits from the cooperation and excitement of a growing number of citizen scientists - some of whom record their daily observations on Cornell University's popular bird-watching smartphone app, eBird. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Bird watchers Matt and Sheila Salo look out over their backyard with binoculars, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. The pandemic that put much of normal life on pause - stopping travel and shutting people in their homes - also afforded more time for many families to study the wildlife in their own backyards. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A robin nestling reaches out with an open beak to be fed, Thursday, May 6, 2021, in Silver Springs, Md. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A red-shouldered hawk perches in a tree with a worm in its mouth, Monday, May 17, 2021, in Columbia, Md. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A red-shouldered hawk flies up from a lawn, Monday, May 17, 2021, in Columbia, Md. The pandemic that put much of normal life on pause - stopping travel and shutting people in their homes - also afforded more time for many families to study the wildlife in their own backyards. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
